Sony DRU-840A detail information

Test machine

For this review we will be using a computer with the following configuration:

Hardware

• Motherboard:  ASUSTEK, P5K, Deluxe
• Processor:  Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2.4GHz
• Memorey:  2BG G-Skill DDR2-800
• Video:  GeForce 8600 GTS
• Sound:  SoundMax integrated Digital HD Audio, onboard
• Hard Disks:  250GB Seagate SATA-II, X2

System set-up

The Sony DRU-840A is connected as “Master” and DMA (Direct Memory Access) is enabled; supported DMA modes: UDMA0-4.

From the screenshot from Nero InfoTool above, we can see the supported features of the Sony DRU-840A.  Firmware is SS00 with a 2MB buffer size.

Here is another shot from Nero Burning Rom

Nero Burning Rom claims that “Overburn” is supported which we will be testing later in the review.

Software

We are running Windows Vista Business 32bit as our operating system.

We will be using the following software in this review:

• Nero Burning ROM 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced
• Nero CD/DVD Speed
• Nero InfoTool
• Slysoft CloneCD V5.2.9.1
• K-Probe V2.5.2

Included Software with the Drive

Here we will take a look at the included software.  Notice that we may not use the included software in our performance testing in the review.

Sony Software Disc Rev 7.90W installation CD:

The software disc includes:

• Nero StartSmart
• Nero Burning Rom 7SE and Nero Express 7
• Nero VisionExpress 4
• Nero InCD 5
• Nero ShowTime
• Nero PhotoSnap/photsnap viewer
• Nero MediaHome
• Nero Recode
• Nero BackItUp
• Nero MediaPlayer/Wave Editor
• Nero Cover Designer
• Nero ToolKit

BookType (Bitsetting)

The Sony DRU-840A supports bit-setting and is capable of writing DVD+R/DL media with DVD-ROM book type.

To support our findings we burned an ISO to both a Single Layer and Double Layer DVD+R media with Nero Burning Rom and then checked it with Nero CD-DVD Speed; here are the results:

Details from the SL burn with Nero Burning Rom

Once we finished burning our Image to both the SL and DL media we checked the “Book Type” from within Nero CD-DVD Speed:

Single Layer

Double Layer

Turbo Boost Function

The default CD-R and CD-ROM read/write speed of the Sony DRU-840A is 40x speed. With a single touch, you can activate the Turbo Boost function, to raise the read/write speed to 48x speed:

• Insert a CD-R/CD-ROM disc into the drive
• Press and hold the eject button for five seconds.  The busy indicator blinks twice and the read/write speed switches to 48X.  (The turbo Boost function is active.)

Note: When you open the disc tray, the Turbo Boost function will be deactivated.

Writing technique

Now it’s time to take a closer look at the write technology used by the Sony DRU-840A:

For these tests we used CD-Speed and wrote a full disc at the drives maximum speed.

CD Recordable:

According to the specifications of the Sony DRU-840A, it should be able to write CD-R media at a maximum speed of 40X in normal mode and at 48X with Turbo Boost on supported media.

The Sony DRU-840A used P-CAV, (Partial Constant Angular Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 40X.  This gives an average speed of 35.11X with a total write time of 3 minutes and 00 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

CD-Rewritable

The Sony DRU-840A uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write CD-RW media at its maximum speed of 32x, with an average write speed of 27.56x and writing time of 3 minutes 22 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

20x DVD+R/-R writing speed

According to the specification of the Sony DRU-840A, it is able to write supported DVD+R/-R media at a maximum speed of 20X.

20x DVD+R

The Sony DRU-840A uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD+R at the maximum supported speed of 20x. This results in an average write speed of 14.90x and a writing time of just 4 minutes and 37 seconds.

20x DVD-R

The Sony DRU-840A uses CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) to write DVD-R at the maximum supported speed of 20x. This results in an average write speed of 14.95x and a writing time of just 5 minutes and 05 seconds.

Here we have prepared a table to show how the DRU-840A compares with other 18X and 20X burners:

As you can see the Sony DRU-840A holds its own when compared with our other tested burners.

Let’s take a look at how it handles burning at 12X.

12x DVD+R and DVD-R

DVD+R

DVD-R

The Sony DRU-840A uses CAV (Constant Linear Velocity) strategy to write our Taiyo Yuden 8X test media (DVD+R and DVD-R) and is able to burn them at 12X.  The +R was writen in 7 minutes and 20 seconds while the –R media was completed in 7 minutes and 27 seconds.

8x DVD+RW

The Sony DRU-840A uses Z-CLV (Zone-Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD+RW at 8x. The average speed is 7.71x and total writing time is 7 minutes and 54 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

6x DVD-RW

The Sony DRU-840A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) to write DVD-RW at 6x. The average speed is 6.04x and total writing time is 10 minutes and 03 seconds.

For comparison we have made the following table: 

As you can see the Sony DRU-840A performs on average with the other drives we have tested.

Let’s take a look at DVD+R/-R writing techniques……

12x DVD+R DL

According to the specifications of the Sony DRU-840A, it should be able to write DVD+R DL at a maximum speed of 12X.  However, we do not have any test media that supports 12X; we do have Verbatim 8X DVD+R DL that are supported at 10X with the Sony DRU-840A.  Here are our results with this media.

The Sony DRU-840A uses Z-CLV, (Zoned Constant Linear Velocity), to write at its maximum speed of 10X. This gives an average speed of 8.86X and a total writing time of 13 minutes and 25 seconds.

12x DVD-R DL

According to the specifications of the Sony DRU-840A, it should be able to write DVD-R DL at a maximum speed of 12X.  At this time your review team is not able to obtain any high speed DVD-R DL media to test for this review.  We will show you a 4X burn using Verbatim DVD-R DL media.

The Sony DRU-840A uses CLV (Constant Linear Velocity), to write at 4X with this media with an average speed of 3.57X and a total write time of 27 minutes and 33 seconds.

DVD-RAM

The specifications for the Sony DRU-840A state that the drive is capable of writing DVD-RAM at 12X.  Let’s take a look at the write strategy for this media.

12X DVD-RAM Writing

According to the specifications of the Sony DRU-840A it should be able to write DVD-RAM at a maximum speed of 12X.

The Sony DRU-840A uses P-CAV (Partial Constant Angular Velocity), to write at is maximum speed of 12X.  This gives an average speed of 10.13X and a total writing time of 5 minutes and 41 seconds.

Summary

The Sony DRU-840A performed well with our writing tests.  We regret that we do not have some of the high speed rated media to test with at this time; when the media is available to us we will post scans of further burning tests in the appropriate thread here at CDFreaks.

Let’s move on ahead and check out the reading performance on the next page…..

Introduction

Reading tests